Unita blackwell biography of michaels

American civil rights activist (–)

Unita Zelma Blackwell (March 18, &#;– May 13, ) was an American civil rights activist who was the first African-American woman to be elected mayor in the U.S. state of Mississippi.^[1] Blackwell was a project director for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and helped organize voter drives for African Americans across Mississippi.

She was also a leader of the US–China Peoples Friendship Association, a group dedicated to promoting cultural exchange between the United States and China. She also served as an advisor to six US presidents: Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton.^[2]

Barefootin', Blackwell's autobiography, published in , charts her activism.^[3]

Early life

Blackwell was born U.&#;Z.

Brown on March 18, , in Lula, Mississippi, to sharecroppers Virda Mae and Willie Brown.^[1][4][5] Bl